Monthly Archives: March 2014

We had a festive Friday as we were generously featured in such a gorgeous magazine TFBM Issue 3. We have been following Katie Nguyen, the amazing and talented editor, the very inspiring designer and entrepreneur of TFBM – The Fashion Business Mentor and her own very cute clothing line Kangacoo Designs for her insightful articles and amazing magazines.

Thank you, TFBM, for featuring us. And for featuring us so generously. This is our very first press after our Press Release last month following our launch. If you are a parent who loves all things fabulous for your children, an independent designer, a photographer, an artist, a stylemaker, or an entrepreneur of any kind, we strongly suggest you follow The Fashion Business Mentor as it will give you the pleasure, the inspiration, and the answers that you probably have been searching for in many areas.

Here we are in TFBM Issue 3 that covers the article of “Choosing Photos for your Line Launch”! Pages 66 thru 71! So fun!

Issue 3 March 2014 TFBM Magazine

We are so blessed to have many talented friends around. These amazing photos and most of our product photos were captured by the sweet and talented Nicole Benitez from Nicole Benitez Photography. Nicole is also featured in this stunning Issue 3 of TFBM and one of her images made the photo cover. You can view the cool magazine online here . Check it out for “some serious eye candy”, as Nicole put it!

Our little Keira and Fiona are represented by a very nurturing and extraordinary modeling agency Paloma Model and Talent (PMT). We got introduced to with “Miss Nicole”, as how our girls call her, through another sweet mom in PMT. Nicole then shared Katie’s blog with us and we immediately fell in love with Katie’s articles. We started to follow her blog immediately and Katie has been so helpful in mentoring us through our decision making and research. And then when chose Nicole, we did a casting call, we received beautiful submissions from PMT’s little models. We wished we could have had them all to represent us! Thank you, little models for representing Runaway Pony! Huge thanks to all of our friends that have helped us launch the line. We are also so grateful for Paloma Model and Talent for connecting us with such talented friends all around!

We love celebrating children everyday and we are so happy when we can share that passion to the world through the media who loves us also for the story that stands behind our collection.

Thank you fans and friends for being there for us. You always have a special place in our heart.

After about nine months of preparation that included designing, fabric hunting, endless visits to the pattern maker and our production house, then fun photoshoots with Nicole Benitez Photography , I am beyond excited (and relieved!) that our inaugural collection is now ready for the world to see.

Here are some of the beautiful pictures taken by Nicole:

Some pictures taken by me:

It sure does feel like I just had a newborn baby! With the overflowing joy and excitement, pride, and heart-melting moments that came with the arrival of my new “baby”, I feel that everyday is a new experience to treasure! We feel overwhelmed with love as {another} precious dream-come-true baby adds warmth to our home. It also came with sleepless nights and a very hungry baby that needs to be “fed” every two hours, at least

It is an amazing and rewarding feeling being a mother. You watch your child bloom right before your eyes, grow with your child together to bring out the best in each other through every milestone, and to embrace childhood and motherhood together. Runaway Pony sure keeps me busi-ER!

If you have not taken a close look to our “new baby photo” aka our logo, here is a closer look.

Our logo portrays the air of nostalgia by picturing the old-fashioned rocking pony. The scalloped frame in an oval shape depicts our classic yet versatile style. We picked Pantone Blue Curacao as our turquoise color that represents freshness, yet with retro feel. The orangey-red color that I always love, and is in our logo for the precious pony, is Pantone 485-C. It represents the faster heartbeats that babies have. It shouts for the excitement that roars boldly everyday when our little children bask in their happy childhood. The light green bow (Pantone Dark Citron) on the pony speaks softly for our delicate love of the to-die-for embellishments on our products. And the name Runaway Pony was inspired by the classic book Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown of which I adore because it talks about the relationship between a mother and her bunny. The story is in line with what I want the world to always remember: the endless love that we moms have for our children.

At Runaway Pony, we love to celebrate children just being children. We love seeing their contentment when they play outside and throw giggles in the air, or paint artwork outdoors, catch a butterfly, swing endlessly, say hello to the ducks, or read a book out loud. Our hearts melt when we see those twinkling eyes and big innocent smiles when they smear themselves with cupcake frosting, chocolate, or marinara sauce while they’re basking in childhood (we like to say this again and again because it’s so, so true). We embrace the innocence, happiness, and sweetness in children through playful, comfortable yet sophisticated clothing that is reminiscent of simpler times. They’re only small once and we want to always celebrate that in the most beautiful way possible.

This sure feels very similar to nurturing a baby. It is an amazing and rewarding feeling being a mother. And it is the same feeling being an mom-entrepreneur. You watch your child bloom right before your eyes, grow with your child together to bring out the best in each other through every milestone, and embrace childhood and motherhood together. I watch the business take one step after another and the familiar feeling is so rewarding.

I learn every beginning step through experience the most. But I learn so much from other independent designers I come across, blogs, friends in the industry, other entrepreneurs, and of course our vendors and production house. I should tell you a little bit about our production house in the Arts District, Los Angeles. We love The Evans Group and the always-on-the-ball, always-looking-together project manager Sam! Without them, these precious sunsuits, dresses and overalls would not be here. “Do you know where your clothes were made?” is the sentence that is very important for me. Not only does The Evans Group perform high quality work for our precious pieces, but we get to know every single person who works on our garments! From the founder, project manager, the cutter, the grader, the pattern maker head, and the sewers! I know exactly where Runaway Pony clothes were made. I know exactly whom I need to talk to, or give my detailed instructions to, or who works specifically on what style. We call, we text, we email, we meet in person. Communication is awesome. They are real live people who are amazing and fascinating. The production house is not a sweat shop. People who work there are good happy employees who are high skilled and experienced. They like what they do (I can tell if someone doesn’t like what they do in the seconds we just met). I felt right at home when I walked in there to meet Sam, my project manager, for the very first time. I was greeted so warmly and I felt so welcomed. When you walk in to the shop, the atmosphere is fascinating…picture this: the warm sound of sewing machines, the smiles on their faces when they see you, and the respect they show each other is shown everywhere in everything they do. It just has a really nice vibe. Seeing the entire technical process of really realizing your dream to come true before your own eyes is priceless. Especially as a new designer and entrepreneur who needs a lot of guidance producing the first collection and launching it, I always feel so welcomed here, never intimidated. I have a practical learning experience by being able to see every step of the making of my production. I love that. Sam gives the best advice on anything you need: from what exactly the meaning of every production term anyone needs to know right on the spot such as: “marking”, “sew-by samples”, “grading”, “digitizing”, “cutting”,…to fabric sourcing, photoshoots, fashion shows, you name it. I am always impressed by Sam’s efficiency, precise-and-clear direction, detailed attention, as well as her (my favorite) million-dollar opinion, sense of humor and organizational skills. So whenever she gives me a compliment, I feel so honored! Thanks, Sam! I also love sharing just my random brainstorm thoughts with her as she has many years of experience in the industry.

So, when you ask me why I made the clothes in the US instead of overseas, my answer will be this. We take all of the above as a high value that is priceless to us. It’s what I believe something you cannot beat. It just makes sense. My sew-by samples (the samples before we run a production) can be made within days (assuming you have all the materials to make it, especially a clear pattern, marking and detailed sketch for each sample). I love what Sam told me on the first day we met after seeing my most intricate sketches with so many contrasts in one style (for Sugar and Milk), “Dian, we don’t fail. We might make a mistake, but we fix that mistake and we don’t fail.” I was sold and it’s the truth.

If we can help the American workforce and economy to stay happy, healthy and busy, and we get to practice fair trade and receive first-class treatment in doing business, then it is definitely a good choice for us as we only want the best products from a valuable trade for our customers. We want you to be happy with your products and proud of what you purchase for your children: classy, high quality, sophisticated and adorable clothing. We want you to create beautiful nostalgia with your little ones. Don’t forget to take so many photographs of them laughing and giggling together with you.

We thank you for being excited for us, and some of you even were counting down with us the night our website store went live. Thank you for the support and tremendous amount of joy you have shown! It will always be treasured in our hearts!